The Denver Nuggets have officially ended the Peyton Watson saga by trading him to the Cleveland Cavaliers for draft compensation. Though the picks acquired may prove fruitful in the future, it's a continuation of Denver effectively navigating the offseason without adding much of anything to a core that just lost in the first round to a team that lost multiple starters to injuries.
If the Nuggets are going to justify a generally stagnant offseason and avoid it leading to disaster, then Christian Braun will need to live up to his contract and prove Denver was right to stay the course.
Denver trading Watson may not be a direct result of its decision to extend Braun, but it's hard to imagine it not playing a part. Braun is soon to enter into the first season on his five-year, $125 million contract, with $21,551,726 coming his way in 2026-27.
The fact that Braun missed 38 games in 2025-26 and Watson broke out in his absence certainly didn't help the Nuggets diffuse the claims that they overpaid the player they ultimately kept.
That's an even more daunting truth for a Denver team that has no real justification for operating with any focus other than winning now. Franchise player Nikola Jokic is 31 years of age and Jamal Murray isn't exactly a future-oriented co-star at 29.
The question is: Will Braun reward the Nuggets' faith by returning to the level of play that got him paid? Or will the Nuggets' commitment to him—or inability to move his contract—cost them another year of Jokic's prime?
Christian Braun living up to his contract would make Denver contenders
Braun is a good basketball player. It's the fundamental truth that's been lost as conversations have centered more around Denver's mismanagement of its cap situation than what actually transpires on the court, where the 25-year-old has readily helped his team win games.
The harsh reality of the NBA, however, is that it is a salary-capped league with apron penalties. As such, a player's value is relative to their cap hit.
Unfortunately, Braun is coming off of a 2025-26 season in which he scored 2.9 fewer points per 36 minutes and shot 9.6 percent worse from beyond the arc than he did in 2024-25. That's not exactly the type of trend Denver needs to see from him.
One simply can't help but wonder if Braun's woes were simply a product of his injury-plagued season or if he's reached his ceiling.
Christian Braun struggled in 2025-26—but was it all about the injuries?
The primary reason for optimism is that Braun had played at least 75 games in each of his first three NBA seasons—and played well during that time. In 2024-25, for instance, he averaged 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.1 three-point field goals made on .580/.397/.827 shooting.
Braun also thrived on the defensive end of the floor that season, ranking in the 97th percentile in perimeter isolation defense and the 88th percentile in off-ball chaser defense, per Basketball Index.
If Braun can get back to that level of production, efficiency, and defensive brilliance, many of the Nuggets' concerns will be eradicated. Losing Watson stings, but having a starter who can space the floor, defend at an arguably elite level, and create a degree of offense would instantly elevate Denver's rotation from the erratic place it resided in during the 2025-26 campaign.
If Braun can't get back to the level he played at in 2024-25, however, then the Nuggets' dream of contending will be quickly extinguished. They simply lack ideal depth and have alotted too much money to Braun to create it. Hence, the Watson trade.
If Braun can go a step beyond returning to his previous level of play and take another step forward in his development, then the Nuggets will not only avoid disaster, but enter an even higher tier of teams.
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